Method and a device for withdrawing from a liquid bath,normalizing and arranging in mesh alignment a knitted hose or the like



N AWI April 28, 1970 K. J. ROSE 3,508,286

METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR WITHDR NG FROM A LIQUID BATH, NORMALIZING AND ARRANGING IN MESH ALIGNMENT A KNITTED HOSE OR THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25 1968 KARL lSAfl IOEL ROSEN BYUJA AMQ. Zak

April 28, 1970 I K. I. J. ROSEN METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR WITHDRAWING FROM A LIQUID BATH, NORMALIZING AND ARRANGING IN MESH ALIGNMENT A KNITTED HOSE OR THE LIKE .4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25, 1968 lllllllllllllll "1 \SAC IDEL ROSEN INVENTOR.

BYulwiuda Z51! April 28,- 1970 K. I. J. ROSEN 3,508,286

METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR WITHDRAWING FROM A LIQUID BATH, NORMALIZING AND ARRANGING IN MESH ALIGNMENT A KNITTED HOSE on THE LIKE Filed April 125.,- 1968 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 3

KARL 15M JOEL RosE'N,

INVENTOR.

K. I. J. ROSEN 3,508,286 METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR WITHDRAWING FROM A LIQUID April 28, 1970 BATH, NORMALIZ ING AND ARRANGING IN MESH ALIGNMENT "A KNITTED HOSE OR THE LIKE A Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 25. 1968 MARL' ism, IOEL nosm,

BY (FM,

United States Patent US. Cl. 8-151 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and a device for withdrawing from a treatment liquid bath, normalizing and mesh aligning a knitted hose or other fabric hose. This is achieved by arranging an air cushion in the hose fabric between the surface of the liquid bath and two rollers between which the hose passes at some distance above said surface.

The present invention relates to a method and a device for withdrawing from a treatment bath, e.g., the rinsing liquid, normalizing and arranging in mesh alignment a knitted hose or other hose fabric.

The withdrawing of such a fabric from the last treatment bath after bleaching, dyeing, or washing, has previously been carried out in such a way that the entangled fabric has been laid over a power driven roller which fed the fabric to a worker that manually arranged the fabric in a centrifuge. The fabric was then fed from the centrifuge to a drier which at a correct operation is free of tension whereby the fabric, which is already under strong tension in the longitudinal direction, is not further tensioned during the drying operation. Before the feeding to the drying apparatus, the fabric has to be disentangled which generally is carried out by means of a transversely tensioning device. After the drying operation, the fabric is fed through a calender in a way known per se. So as to have the product mesh aligned, it is arranged in a rotatable trough under the calender, said trough being turned manually in one direction or the other as needed for the disentangling of the fabric.

It is also known to smooth the fabric at the removal from the spinner, the latter then being manually turned in the same manner as the trough mentioned here above so as to turn the fabric in such a way that it is mesh aligned. It is of utmost importance that the mesh picture which is highly influenced by means of the wet treatment and the longitudinal tensioning of the fabric, is renormalized and relaxed.

Sooner or later, i.e., at'the use of the finished garment or at the washing of the same, the lengthened meshes created at the wet tensioning will change to semicircles which smoothly merge into each other. During this process the product shrinks greatly.

By means of the method according to the present invention the meshes are normalized already at the time of withdrawal of the fabric from the bath such that they are given the desired semicircular shape which is characteristic for a relaxed mesh. During the same process, the fabric is mesh aligned.

Thus, the present invention relates to a method for withdrawing, e.g., from the last treatment bath, normalizing and mesh aligning a knitted fabric or another fabric hose; and, the main feature of the method is to be seen therein that an air cushion is inserted in the hose between the surface of the treatment bath and two rollers situated at a certain distance above said surface, the hose being inserted between said rollers for pressing out the treat- Patented Apr. 28, 1970 ment liquid which then streams down along the fabric and makes the same essentially air tight about or in the area of the air cushion. The cushion of air can be provided in any one of several different suitable ways. One example would be the mere blowing or directing of a flow of air into the end of the hose at the starting operation. It may be suflicient to merely hold the ends of the tubular mesh fabric apart out of the liquid bath at the initial start to envelope air therebetween, and then feed the subsequently closed mesh fabric between the rollers. A fan and some suitable mouthpiece also may be used for channeling the air into the hose. Should air losses occur in the air cushion, e.g., due to a hole or any other defect in the fabric, these losses may according to the present invention, be compensated for as by the disposition of a sensing means resting against the air cushion to detect changes in position thereof, which sensing means then influences a microswitch whereby a valve is electrica ly opened and compressed air is blown through a thin tube to replenish the air cushion. This air jet uncovers a part of the fabric from the liquid such that in this uncovered area, air from the compressed air tube can be pressed through the fabric and into the cushion area. The uncovered area is tightened after air replenishment is completed, and preferably by means of a further tube which is arranged just above the compressed air tube enabling liquid, e.g., from the last treatment bath, to be sprayed onto the uncovered area which thereby is tightened.

A machine for carrying the method according to the invention into effect is preferably provided with a simple folding device of known type and it is probably not necessary to describe such a device in detail since it is -well known to anyone skilled in the art. The folded fabric package thus obtained from the machine is embraced by one or two elastic straps and a suitable number of such packages are placed in the spinner.

Waste of time and work is hereby considerably reduced and the handling of the fabric is simplified to a great extent and also so is the transfer to the drier, and the latter does not have to be provided with any transversely tensioning device any more. As already mentioned, the fabric is mesh aligned already at the withdrawal from the bath and for this reason the product does not have to be watched during its treatment in the calender in this respect.

The method according to the invention not only reduces the work required but, more importantly, one obtains a final product which can be used for the manufacture of garments having a considerably better shape permanence than could be previously obtained. The method is also very suitable for being carried into effect at dyeing vats in which it contributes to an even dyeing and prevents the occurrence of fulling creases.

It has hitherto been impossible, without detrimental tensionings and expandings and continuous observation, to feed a soaked knitted fabric over a transversely tensioning device. This method carried out in accordance with this invention causes no troubles whatsoever as the air cushion expands the fabric such that it can be fed onto the transversely tensioning device without difficulties and stresses. By means of an idle type roller disposed on each side of the fabric shortly before the transversely tensioning device, the hose fabric is somewhat recompressed after being expanded by means of the air cushion, such that there is prepared an opening to fit the transversely tensioning device, all of which contribute to the safe carrying out of the method.

One of said rollers should be stationary with regard to the distance to the plane of the fabric in the transversely tensioning device and the other one should be movably supported, e.g., on a lever, in such a way that in case the air quantity in the air cushion is reduced, last mentioned roller approaches first mentioned roller and influences a horizontal arm with an adjustable counter weight. As already mentioned, the air pressure in the hose is automatically controlled by the relative position of this roller.

The invention also relates to a device for carrying into elfect the method described in the aforegoing and this device comprises a vat containing treatment liquid through and from which the hose fabric is withdrawn for being fed further through the press nip between two rollers so as to press treatment liquid, carried along by the fabric, out of the same. The main feature of this device is that it comprises a means for forcing air into the hose at a place between the liquid surface in the vat and the rollers, and that between the liquid surface of said treatment bath and the pair of rollers, there is arranged a transversely tensioning device which may be of a well-known type and generally having the shape of a rectangular frame, the sides of which frame are arch-shaped and extend in the feeding direction of the fabric.

The transversely tensioning device preferably comprises a frame formed by two tubes, and advantageously on each side of this device, there is arranged a preferably elastic driving belt running over two spaced pulleys. The driving belts are arranged to run while being in contact with the side of the tensioning device and thereby act to feed the hose fabric up over the tensioning device. The device also comprises means for compensating losses from the air cushion and means for controlling the air compensation, the construction of which will be obvious from the following description.

In the following the invention will be elucidated with reference to the accompanying drawing, partly diagrammatical drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation illustrating the principle of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same device,

FIG. 3 shows on an enlarged scale a transversely tensioning device according to the invention,

FIG. 4 shows a section on the line IVIV in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 shows on an enlarged scale the pulley for one driving belt for advancing the hose fabric along the transversely tensioning device, and

FIG. 6 is a view from above corresponding to the view shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fabric hose is fed from a wheeled box 2 to the last treatment bath 3 in a vat 4. The fabric hose 1 is fed over a driven roller 5 in such a way that some meters of the fabric always be situated within the treatment bath 3. The hose 1 is withdrawn from said bath by means of two sensing rollers 6, 7 of which the roller 6 is stationary and the roller 7 is movable so as to influence a controlling means 23. From the rollers 6 and 7 the fabric 1 runs over a transversely tensioning device 8 and further up between the nip of press rollers 9 and 10 for a pressing out of liquid carried along from the bath 3. The fabric 1 is then fed over a roller 11 and down to a collecting device, preferably a so-called folding device 12.

In FIG. 2 the machine is shown more in detail and it can be deduced from this figure, that the box 2 has been advanced to the treatment vat 4, and the knitted hose 1 is being fed over the roller 5 into the treatment bath 3. In FIG. 2 there is further depicted the most essential feature of the invention, viz. the arrangement of an air cushion 13 above the surface of the treatment bath 3. This air cushion 13 acts in a most unexpected way in that the withdrawn knitted hose 1 is normalized and arranged in mesh alignment and no further measures are required for correct feeding of the knitted hose to the transversely tensioning device 8. The knitted hose is fed along this device 8 by means of elastic drive belts 14, 15 which run over spaced apart sets of pulleys 16, 17, and 18, 19.

If air should leak out from the air cushion 13 formed in the fabric hose 1, e.g., at mesh defects which may occur in a portion of the knitted fabric, the volume of the air cushion 13 is reduced. The sensing roller 7 is thereby swung about the shaft 20 closer to the roller 6 and infiuences the operation means 23, e.g., a microswitch, which in turn influences (opens) a tube 21 for supplying compressed air. Said tube 21 directs an air jet towards the air cushion 13 and uncovers, i.e., removes liquid from a part of the surface of the hose such that air in said jet can enter the hose and compensate for air losses in the air cushion 13. Through a tube 22 disposed just above said tube 21, liquid drawn from the treatment bath 3 is directed over the air cushion 13 and tightens or recloses the meshes. When the air cushion 13 regains its predetermined volume, the sensing roller 7 returns back to its original position and breaks off contact with the influence means 23. Said means 23 then interrupts the compressed air jet from against the air cushion 13.

In FIG. 3 the transversal tensioning device 8 is shown on an enlarged scale in a front view from which it is obvious that the transversely tensioning device comprises an essentially rectangular frame having two opposed sides 24, 25 which extending in the feeding direction of the fabric 1 are arched such that the frame will be broadest at the centre, e.g., at the section line IV-IV in FIG. 3. This section is shown in FIG. 4 and it is understood from the same that the frame comprises two tubes 26, 27 situated close to each other.

The fabric is fed along said tensioning device 8 by means of a pair of elastic drive belts 14, 15 arranged one on each side of the device and running over pulleys 16, 17, and 18, 19, respectively, arranged at opposite side ends of said tensioning device 8. In FIGS. 5 and 6- there is shown on an enlarged scale elevational and edge views, respectively, of a pulley 19 and related apparatus. As observed in FIG. 6, the pulley 19 is driven by means of bevel gears 28, 29 of which gear 28 is mounted on a shaft 30 of the pulley 19 and the other one 29 on a shaft 31 which is mounted in the stands 33, 34 of the device according to the invention. The shaft 31 is driven by means of a belt 32 (see FIG. 2) via the roller 9 which in turn is driven by a power source, e.g., an electric motor 35 or the like.

Along its circumference, the pulley 19 is provided with a medial groove 34' in which the belt 15 runs and on the side turned towards the transversely tensioning device 8 the belt 15 is pressed against the notch formed between the adjacently disposed tubes 26, 27 forming the transversely tensioning device. As shown in FIG. 2 the belt 15 runs at its upper end about a pulley 18. The arrangement of the driving belt 15 has now been described at the right hand side according to FIG. 2 of the device 8 and, of course, it is the same at the left hand side but turned opposite hand or as seen in a mirror.

The elastic belts 14 and 15 may with advantage comprise closely wound steel springs inserted in a suitable rubber hose. When the helical springs have been connected by means of a spring joint, the two ends of the hose are interconnected such that water cannot enter into the helix. The two pairs of pulleys 16, 17 and 18, 19 may be driven in a Well-known manner as by means of said bevel gears on a transverse shaft and arranged in such a way that th pulleys may be displaced forth and back along the shaft such that the machine can be adjusted and be provided with a transversely tensioning device fitting the width of the fabric. The upper pulley pair 16, 18 is driven in the same way as the lower pulley pair 17, 19 on a transversely extending shaft 36. The two transversely extending shafts 31 and 36 are interconnected by means of a roll chain 32 and the sprockets 37, 38 are replaceable such that it is possible to obtain a certain speed difference between the pulleys 16-19, viz., between the lower pulleys 17, 19 which could be denominated feeding pulleys and the upper pulleys 16, 18 which could be denominated the pulling off pulleys.

When the driving belts 14 and 15 are driven such that they run along the transversely tensioning device 8 while contacting the same, they feed the fabric 1 upwardly along the same and by means of the device described in the aforegoing for driving the pulleys 16-19 the effect is obtained that the fabric structure is changed when the fabric by means of the elastic belts 14, 15 are moved along the transversely tensioning device 8 which is considerably wider at the centre than at its ends. During the feeding along said device 8, yarn will slide from a position of the yarn portions extending in the longitudinal direction of the fabric over to that of the yarn portions extending in the transversal direction of the same. During this process the length of the fabric is of course reduced. For this reason it is necessary to feed on more fabric at the narrow end of said tensioning device than is pulled off upper end, and this is obtained by choosing the sprocket in such a way that the feeding pulleys 17, 19 run somewhat faster than the pulling off or drawing pulleys 16, 18.

The elastic belts 14 and 15 in this mechanism function in the following manner. Due to the fact that the lower pair of pulleys 17, 19 runs a little faster than the upper pair 16, 18, there will occur a certain tensioning in each belt on the outside of the upper pulleys 16, 18. The belt is somewhat stretched, but essentially maintains its thickness due to the steel spring disposed therein, and engages the V-notch in the pulley without slipping even at the highest rotation speed. However, at the inside of the lower pulleys 17, 19 the belt is locked no longer but is free to contract. The fabric caught between the frame of the tensioning device and the elastic belt is then wrinkled more or less depending on the speed difference between the feeding pulleys 17, 19 and the drawing pulleys 16, 18. Then, when the fabric thus highly wrinkled is advanced along the tensioning device frame to the broadest place, the wrinkles disappear on the fabric for. the reason that the transversal tensioning positively causes. a length reduction, in the manner described in the aforegoing.

The invention has been described in the aforegoing for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims. Thus, most of the details in the apparatus may be modified as long as there could be maintained, above the surface of the treatment bath from which the hose fabric is withdrawn, an air cushion in the way described in the aforegoing for the reason that it is this air cushion, tightened by means of the treatment liquid being pressed out of the hose fabric and streaming down the same that gives the unexpected effect of normalizing and mesh aligning of the hose fabric in an unexpected manner and which, as already mentioned, gives the garments manufactured from a hose fabric 1 treated in this manner a considerably increased shape permanence.

What I claim is:

1. A method for withdrawing from a liquid treatment bath, and for advancing for further treatment or handlinga supply of tubular knitted or other similar textile tubular hose fabric which is liquid and air permeable under certain conditions, comprising in series the steps of:

(a) withdrawing the tubular fabric from the treatment liquid bath, initially with the fabric generally being in a saturated condition;

(b) forming and trapping a cushion of low-pressure air within a predetermined area of said saturated tubular fabric continuously upon its emergence from the liquid bath so that the walls of said tubular fabric are spread apart substantially to define the air cushion therebetween;

(c) substantially closing the spread apart tubular fabric by compressing same between means to form said fabric into a generally constricted form beyond the formed air cushion;

(d) continuously compressing from the saturated fabric in an area beyond the air cushion a substantial,

amount of the liquid bath residue carried along therewith, in a manner that said liquid freely runs down the fabric and renders it generally air tight to a sufficient predetermined extent to maintain the existence of said air cushion; and

(e) transversely spreading and longitudinally drawing said fabric over and by suitable means to precondition and advance said fabric for further treatment.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 including the further steps of subsequently normalizing and mesh-aligning said fabric to further condition same for storage or for subsequent treatment and use.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 further including the step of feeding said fabric at a substantially faster rate for the step of transversely spreading it, than the speed at which said fabric is longitudinally drawn, whereby the fabric becomes first wrinkled and stretched in a transverse direction and subsequently drawn but reduced dimensionally in the longitudinal direction.

4. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of compensating for any amount of air loss from the air cushion area by directing a jet of air from exteriorly of the fabric toward the air cushion area, and of sufficient force to penetrate only the adjacent liquid saturated wall of the fabric to replenish the air loss and to reestablish the air cushion therein.

5. The method as defined in claim 4 further including while simultaneously ceasing the air jet flow, the spraying or supplying of a liquid to engage and to reseal the fabric particularly in the area which has been air-jetpenetrated or otherwise suffered loss of liquid and its air retention capability.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the forming of the air cushion takes place closely adjacent and intermediate said bath and said compressing area.

7. Apparatus for Withdrawing from a liquid treatment bath, and for advancing for further treatment a tubular knit hose or other similar tubular textile fabric which is generally air-and-liquid permeable, said apparatus comprising in combination:

(a) a vat containing a liquid treatment bath;

(b) means for introducing a supply of said hose fabric into the liquid bath in said vat whereby the fabric is fully saturated with said liquid bath;

(0) means spaced above the level of said liquid bath for compressing said fabric to cause residue liquid to freely flow down the fabric to render it reeasonably air tight to retain low pressure air to be introduced into the central part of said tubular fabric;

(d) means for separating the tubular fabric walls and for forming a cushion of low pressure air within said fabric in the area above the level of the liquid bath and below said means for compressing the fabric, said air of said cushion being of sufficiently low pressure to normally not penetrate the liquid saturated fabric walls which seal the air therein; and

(e) means for advancing the fabric for further treat* ment or storage pending subsequent use thereof.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 further including means for transversely stretching or tensioning said fabric, and disposed intermediate the compressing means of paragraph (c) and the liquid bath.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein the advancing means of paragraph (e) of base claim 17 include elongated drive belt and pulley means disposed on opposite lateral sides of and engagable in part with the means for transversely stretching said fabric.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein the drive belt means include endless drive belts comprised of closely wound flexible steel coil springs embededly connected in endless fashion and embodied within an elastic material body.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein the, means of paragraph (d) for forming the cushion of air include spaced elongated members between which said fabric passes and which sufficiently reclose the separated walls of said fabric in an area beyond and to help define and retain said air cushion.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 further including means for transversely stretching or tensioning said fabric, and disposed intermediate said elongated members and said compressing means of paragraph (c).

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein the means for transversely stretching said fabric include a pair of juxtaposed tubular frames having a wider medial area over which the fabric is driven.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 further including means disposed and terminating exteriorly of said air cushion for controlling and directing a flow of compressed air toward said air cushion, with said ar flow being under suflicient pressureto penetrate said liquid saturated fabric defining the air cushion area suificiently clearing the fabric of said liquid to replenish any air losses from said air cushion.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein one of said elongated members is movably mounted and rests against said cushion area; and including means interconnecting said latter-mentioned elongated member and said means for controlling and directing said compressed air flow toward said cushion, and together constituting sensing means which operate responsive to predetermined loss from or increase of air to said air cushion, to automatically compensate for loss of and replenish predetermined amounts of air thereto.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 further including means for directing and flushing a liquid over the air cushion, particularly in the area cleared by the air flow replenishment of said air cushion, to reseal same sufficiently to reestablish an effective air cushion area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,836,718 12/1931 Leguillon 26-55 X 2,294,642 9/1942 Wedler 2655 2,590,938 4/1952 Cohn et al. 26-55 2,684,519 7/1954 Redman et a1 2655 WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 26--55"; 6822 

